#TurksandCaicos, March 19, 2021 – The Turks and Caicos Islands continues to successfully roll out its COVID-19 vaccination program which is a key component of its plan to mitigate the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The Turks and Caicos Islands received its first batch of Pfizer BionTech COVID-19 vaccines compliments of Her Majesty’s Government on Thursday, January 7th, 2021, with a second batch having arrived on Wednesday, February 25th, 2021.

As of Sunday, March 14, 2021 a total of 11,283 persons in the Turks and Caicos Islands had received their first doses of the Pfizer BionTech COVID-19 vaccine thus far.  

This included:  9416 persons on the island of Providenciales; 1,181 on the island of Grand Turk; 264 on the island of South Caicos; 201 on the island of Parrot Cay; 181 on the islands of North and Middle Caicos and 40 persons on the island of Salt Cay.

Based on data from the Turks and Caicos Islands Statistics Department which estimates a population of 45,542 persons resident in the islands in 2020; 32% of the estimated adult population of approximately 35,000 persons have been vaccinated in the islands thus far.

Commenting on the continued success of the program Deputy Governor and Co-Chair of the TCI COVID-19 Vaccination Oversight Steering Committee Her Excellency Anya Williams stated; “Sixty days since officially launching our COVID-19 vaccination program on January 11, 2021, we are pleased to report that over 30% of our population have been vaccinated thus far.

The UK has committed to providing the TCI with enough doses to vaccinate our entire population should there be a demand to do so.

We continue to administer the vaccine free of charge to all residents through our primary healthcare clinic as well as the 5 private medical practices here on island.

We also recently launched an at-home vaccination program for elderly bedridden persons across the islands and in the weeks ahead will also be implementing drive-through and community vaccination clinics to reach a wider proportion of our population.

As we continue our response to the global COVID-19 pandemic here in these islands,

increased testing, appropriate isolation and increased vaccinations will continue to be our major priorities.

The Turks and Caicos Islands are currently administering the Pfizer BionTech COVID-19 vaccine which has an efficacy rate of 95%.

We have also made arrangements with the United Kingdom to receive a small batch of the Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine for persons that consider this vaccine as their preference.

We continue to encourage persons to familiarize themselves with the vaccine

to obtain the information that is necessary to allow them to make informed decisions.

We express our profound thanks to our healthcare workers for the work that they do every day in helping to keep us safe and healthy here in the Turks and Caicos Islands and we continue to encourage all residents that can to seriously consider being vaccinated as it is one of our greatest defenses!”